New Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Mouse that debuted with the M1 iMac are now available for individual purchase (in silver and white) from Apple. (Touch ID on the new keyboards only works with M1 Macs, including the M1 Mac mini)https://t.co/2a6JpWp0Cbpic.twitter.com/47uGZ1C0vi
This school year, tens of thousands of students will be able to use mobile student IDs on iPhone and Apple Watch to get around campus and make purchases. For the first time, mobile student IDs can be added to the Wallet app in Canada, starting with the University of New Brunswick and Sheridan College this year. In the US, new schools to adopt mobile student IDs include Auburn University, Northern Arizona University, University of Maine, New Mexico State University, and many more colleges across the country.
And:
In April 2021, for the first time since launching mobile student IDs in Wallet, students used their mobile IDs to make purchases and access campus buildings more than they used plastic ID cards. This fall, the University of Alabama will be the first school to exclusively issue mobile student IDs to their 38,000 students with eligible devices.
It was not so long ago that major colleges and universities were using a student’s social security number (in the US) as their actual student ID.
Moving the student ID to a student’s iPhone and Apple Watch is a huge step forward, both in convenience and in security. Will there come a day when we can use our iPhone Wallet as an airline ID (I think so)? To vote in an election?
Angela McNamara’s first hint that her Facebook account had been hacked was an early-morning email warning that someone was trying to log into her account.
“If this is not you, don’t worry, we’re keeping your account safe,” she recalls the email from Facebook saying. But her relief only lasted a minute, when another email arrived, saying her password had been changed. Then another, notifying her that a two-factor authentication — an extra layer of security — had been set up for her account.
The article then goes into detail on the frustration of trying to contact Facebook to get your account back:
Facebook tells users to report hacked accounts through its website. The site instructs them to upload a copy of a driver’s license or passport to prove their identities.
Nope.
Anyway, this popped up on Reddit as an alternative:
“I ultimately broke down and bought a $300 Oculus Quest 2,” he said. Oculus is a virtual reality company owned by Facebook but with its own customer support system.
Sherman contacted Oculus with his headset’s serial number and heard back right away. He plans to return the unopened device, and while he’s glad the strategy worked, he doesn’t think it’s fair.
There’s a lesson here, somewhere. Still trying to work out what it is.
The new white paper, titled Mac Pro Technology Overview, is chock full of detail, well worth going through if you own, or are considering a Mac Pro.
The paper is pretty long (45 pages), so if you are interested in the new AMD modules, open the PDF and do a find for AMD, which should take you to the description of the Radeon Pro 580X MPX Module.
Brendan Fraser (No Sudden Move) has joined the casts of Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon and Max Barbakow’s Brothers.
The former title from Apple TV + and Paramount Pictures is a crime drama, based on the bestselling book of the same name by David Grann. It’s set in 1920s Oklahoma and will examine the serial murder of members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation—a string of brutal crimes that came to be known as the Reign of Terror.
Cool. Who else is in it?
Fraser will appear in Killers alongside Oscar winners Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio, Emmy nominated Jesse Plemons, and more. We hear that he will play lawyer WS Hamilton.
De Niro and DiCaprio. Directed by Scorsese. Mix in some Brendan Fraser (along with the under-appreciated Jess Plemons), and a budget said to be more than $200M. Yes please.
Last week, I tweeted an old school iPhone camera tip that prompted some discussion and, for me, led to a rabbit hole deep dive into various camera app settings.
More importantly, it led to the video embedded below (thanks and a H/T to Matt Cassinelli), in which Tyler Stalman talks through a lot of hidden built-in camera app detail that you may not be aware of.
Worth watching, all the way through. Plus, now I’ve added Calgary Stampede to my bucket list.
I love watching someone who has mastered their craft. In this case, check out Alexandr Misko’s take on Careless Whisper, with beautiful finger work, hammering and, above all, those incredibly precise tuning peg changes.
Microsoft’s new cloud PC system, Windows 365, has officially launched for all eligible businesses and enterprises. While it’s not available to consumers yet, we hope to see it in the future. In the meantime, I was able to go hands-on with Windows 365 on my iPad Pro. Here’s what my experience was like.
And:
Previously, we expected Windows 365 to be only accessible through a web browser. I first tried Windows 365 through Safari in iPadOS 15. It wasn’t a great experience, to be honest. But then I noticed Microsoft’s callout to the Remote Desktop app. I flew over to the App Store and downloaded the app, entered my credentials, and boom — I had a smooth virtual install of Windows running in a native app on my iPad from the App Store. Yeah, you read that correctly.
The plan starts at $31 per user per month. That’s $372 per year. This is for businesses, not consumer use. My sense is that this is Microsoft getting in front of the work-from-home trend, giving businesses a way to avoid the computer hardware purchase/configuration/disposal cycle.
Hard to judge the value of this pricing, but it certainly is interesting that you can run your Windows install on your Mac, then switch that exact same configuration over to your iPad.
It does feel like it will shift the burden of hardware ownership from the employer to the employee.
Apple has developed a new iPhone display solution for its retail stores that highlights MagSafe wireless charging, eliminates cable clutter, and makes iPhones more approachable to customers.
And:
Apple’s latest solution replaces Lightning docks entirely in favor of four MagSafe chargers mounted on stainless steel arms.
Words don’t do this new display justice. Follow the headline link, check out the images.
Current displays have the iPhone jammed onto a Lightning connector, with a slight tilt. This new display raises the iPhone, reduces cable clutter, highlights MagSafe, and has a bit more tilt, for a friendlier viewing angle.
Not clear if and when these new displays will start popping up in Apple Stores and, if they do, what form they will take. As is, they are clustered together, not ideal for social distancing.
Apple has leaped from third to first place for profit and from twelfth to sixth place for revenue in the Fortune Global 500 rankings of the world’s biggest companies.
Some astonishing numbers (as reported by Fortune):
Apple revenue: $274 billion, 6th most in the world
Apple profit: $57 billion, 1st in the world
What makes this performance even more amazing is that they come in the midst of a worldwide chip shortage that is affecting all tech manufacturers. It shows, in my mind, that Apple is managing their supply chain exceptionally well.
After several years of very slowly inching my way toward the precipice, it all happened in a hurry this summer: A discovery that I preferred to watch shows via Apple TV apps, even if they were also available on my TiVo. The realization that other than “Jeopardy!” and live sports, everything I watched was streaming. Wanting to simplify my TV (and remote control) setup when a TiVo was stuck in the middle of it all.
Finally, I broke down and did the math: I could replace my Xfinity cable TV and internet with AT&T gigabit fiber internet and an over-the-top TV service. And, after swapping a few streaming service freebies (Comcast gave me Peacock, AT&T gives me HBO Max), I’d get faster internet and everything running on the Apple TV—for $65 less every month.
Back when cutting the cord was still new, the math was pretty easy. The choices were relatively few and to replicate your cable bundle, you’d spend more than you’d save.
But with the growing river of streaming options, that math has changed. You no longer need to replicate a bundle. Instead, you cherry pick a few things that are truly important to you, then add to the mix until you have more than you can possibly watch.
Though replicating the bundle is still relatively expensive, it’s easy enough and (as Jason point out) cost effective to grab what you need and add in enough to always have something interesting to watch.
On July 29, 2021, Apple began publicly testing its next expansion area: the Italian Peninsula, including Italy, San Marino, and Vatican City. (Sardinia and Sicily are included; Malta is not.)
Interesting to see the animated maps, showing off the difference between the old and the new.
Don’t miss the chart listing all 12 Apple Maps expansions.
For over two decades, “APPLE IS DOOMED” was a common refrain in Internet discussions. Originally, it was meant in a literal sense, but once Apple was well on the road to becoming the tech titan it is today, the saying was parroted back, soaked in irony, as a rebuff to naysayers. But lurking behind those rebuffs was the very real concern that Apple was too dependent on the iPhone and that someday the world would move on, causing Apple’s business to come crashing down.
True. First, Apple was doomed, but managed to survive. Then, when iPod, colorful iMacs, iPhone, etc. hit, doomed was ironic. Then, before the services shift, there was a bit of “too dependent on iPhone” worry behind the doomed.
Imagine a heavy, cast-iron kettlebell. If you put it on top of a paper cup, it crushes the cup. Put it on top of a concrete block and the concrete block supports it just fine. But if you lift that kettlebell repeatedly (with good form), you will get stronger. The paper cup is fragile, the concrete block is robust, and your body is antifragile (even if it doesn’t always feel that way).
A fine analogy. But why is Apple Antifragile?
Most of Apple’s 500-plus retail stores, along with many of its partners’ stores, were shut down for much of 2020. Maestri said sales of the iPhone and Apple Watch were hurt by the store closures because those are more complex transactions in which customers need assistance. But more people working and learning from home created a boom in iPad and Mac sales.
And:
Store closures also hurt the AppleCare part of the Services business, and a slowdown in advertising hampered Services revenue. But those downturns were more than offset by a boom in the entertainment aspects of the Services segment (Apple Music, Apple TV+, etc.) due to lockdowns and restricted entertainment options. Again, some services were down, but others were way, way up.
In other words, the adversity of the pandemic made Apple even stronger.
I especially appreciate the bit about Apple’s strong investment in locking down the supply chain:
Have you tried to buy a PlayStation 5 or an Xbox Series X? Good luck, they’re still hard to get. No one can produce enough chips. The same goes for automobiles. Automakers have had to choose between producing cars with fewer features or not making them at all.
Think about all your Apple devices and the ways they get power. Got a list in your head? OK, read on.
Mark Gurman, PowerOn newsletter:
Lightning: Apple uses Lightning as the connector for all of its iPhones, the entry-level iPad, the iPad mini (but not the iPad Air or iPad Pro), iPod touch, and accessories like the Apple TV remote, MagSafe Duo and Battery Pack, all AirPods products and cases, and keyboards, mice and trackpads.
USB-C: Apple uses USB-C for the charger on the current MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iPad Pro and iPad Air.
MagSafe for iPhone: Apple launched its large puck-shaped MagSafe charger for the iPhone 12 line last year.
MagSafe for Apple Watch: The Apple Watch has used the same MagSafe charger since the first model in 2015.
MagSafe for Mac: MagSafe started its Mac comeback earlier this year with a new round connector on the revamped 24-inch iMac. Expect another MagSafe design to make its way to the new MacBook Pro this year and a redesigned MacBook Air next year.
That’s five different mechanisms on currently shipping product.
More from Mark:
I believe Apple should shake up its connector lineup and slim down from five different chargers to as few as three. That would go a long way toward simplicity and better management of multiple Apple products. That should start with transitioning from Lightning to USB-C.
Imagine if Apple shipped a single cable type, USB-C to USB-C (like the cable that comes with the new MacBooks). Then, accompanied by a simple set of specialty power-savvy dongles to plug into one end, for Apple Watch and MagSafe.
Not sure if this is doable, from a power standpoint, but if so, that’d make packing up for travel a lot simpler.
Thanks to Bare Bones Software for sponsoring The Loop this week. There’s a lot to love about software I’ve been using for more than 20 years and now BBEdit, the power tool for text, is ready for Big Sur and M1-powered Macs and was just updated to version 14!
It was a sad week for the music world as Dusty Hill, bassist for ZZ Top died at 72. Dave and I also discuss some of the changes in iOS 15, specifically with Maps and Siri. And Dave gives us an old school iPhone tip that may help you record video a bit quicker when you don’t have much time.
This is a fascinating read, filled with backstory, and accompanied by a series of excellent close-up shots of some old school Macintosh chips, including the infrared mouse chip, the real time clock chip / parameter ram, and an early Apple sound chip.
Best bit:
> Steve would regularly hold “all hands” meetings in the central atrium of the Bandley 3 building. This was a large open tiled area that later also housed the Bosendorfer piano, the BMW motorcycle, and some video games such as W88. There Steve would, among other things, exhort us to work harder. During one exchange someone said to him, “Steve, at some point we need to go home and do our laundry and pay our credit card bills”. He immediately responded saying he would have a washer/dryer installed by Monday if we wanted it, and he didn’t understand the credit card thing because he just deposited a bunch of money (I think he said something like ~$35K) in his credit card at the start of the year and never had to worry about it. The thing was – he appeared dead serious about his responses. Either that or he could deadpan so well that he fooled all of us. Steve would use the all-hand meetings to laud team members he thought were “great”. This would frequently involve very publicly handing out what we called “the grey envelopes”, containing usually some form of monetary remuneration. But Steve had an innate uncanny ability to sense whatever it was that would most motivate a subordinate – be it cash, recognition, flattery, fear – whatever.
There are some major improvements to Siri in iOS 15, with Apple introducing features that iPhone users have long asked for. On devices with an A12 chip or later, Siri can do on-device processing and there’s support for offline requests.
Most importantly:
Starting in iOS 15, speech processing and personalization are done on-device. This makes Siri faster at processing requests, but also more secure. Most audio requests made of Siri are kept entirely on the iPhone and are no longer uploaded to Apple’s servers for processing.
And:
With on-device processing now available, there are a wide range of Siri requests that can be handled offline. Siri can create (and disable) timers and alarms, launch apps, control audio playback, and access Settings options.
This is a huge step up, especially useful if you are in an area with low cell coverage. In a similar vein, wonder if Apple Maps will add the ability to download maps, something Google Maps offers in its Android and iPhone apps.
Landon, a creative at Apple Grand Central in New York City, joins up with Maria Lax in London to do a nighttime photo expedition, exploring techniques to up your Night Mode photo technique.
There are two separate widget options. The first allows users to check traffic conditions, store opening times, restaurant reviews, and more for a given location, while the second is designed to let users find places that are nearby like restaurants, gas stations, and grocery stores.
And:
The Google Maps widget can be accessed using the “+” button either in the Today View or on the Home Screen after downloading the latest version of the app.
If you are not finding the Google Maps Widget, make sure you have the latest version of Google Maps (follow this link, tap Update), then, in the Home Screen, long press to enter wiggle mode, then tap the “+” in the upper left corner. The Google Maps widget should show up there.
Joseph “Dusty” Hill, ZZ Top’s bassist for more than 50 years, has died, the group’s longtime rep confirmed. No cause of death was cited.
The band’s Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard issued a statement:
“We are saddened by the news today that our Compadre, Dusty Hill, has passed away in his sleep at home in Houston, TX. We, along with legions of ZZ Top fans around the world, will miss your steadfast presence, your good nature and enduring commitment to providing that monumental bottom to the ‘Top’. We will forever be connected to that ‘Blues Shuffle in C.’
CR2032 batteries with bitterant coatings might not work with AirTag or other battery-powered products, depending on the alignment of the coating in relation to the battery contacts.
Bitterant coatings? They are added to small things (like button cell batteries) to make them less attractive to children. If a kid smells a bitterant coating, it’ll smell bad. If they put a bitterant coated battery in their mouth, they’ll likely spit it right out.
And it turns out that the bitterant coating can interfere with electrical conductivity. So check the package if you’re looking for a replacement CR2032 for your AirTags.
Jeff Benjamin, 9to5Mac, put together this video showing all the tiny iOS 15 tweaks that came along with the new beta. If you are specifically interested in the changes that came to Safari, jump to about 6 minutes in.
This new Safari design is going to take some getting used to.
I do appreciate the new setting, which separates the issue of the all in one address bar from the design of the tabs themselves. Here are some thoughts on the tab design:
The rounded rects feel retro, outdated. The tabs feel like blobs, floating in space. An individual tab does not feel strongly rooted to the page below it. If you have multiple tabs open, it’s not immediately clear which tab is connected to the page below it.
The current tab is marked by a different shade. Unfortunately, this effect is subtle, not at all obvious-at-a-glance. All of these point combine to make it difficult to get a sense of where you are (which tab is active) and where to tap to make changes.
Beyond this are some behavioral issues, which I see more as tweakable beta issues, not foundational design problems. When I tap on a non-active tab to switch to it, the destination tab is selected, and then, after a slight pause, the tab layout changes. This comes up consistently when I try to select a background tab to close it. I tap the tab, then head to the close “x” to tap on it. By the time I get to it, the tab layout has changed just enough for me to miss and cause another tab to come to the front.
There are other tweaky behavioral issues, but I think if the iPadOS Safari team can address the tab design issues, the rest will sort itself out over time.
A series of charts pulled together by Jason Snell, a great collection of data I look forward to after every Apple quarterly results call.
The first chart gives a real sense of how important iPhone sales are to Apple’s bottom line. No hiding it, Apple remains an iPhone company. But look how big the Services pie chart slice has gotten.
To see this growth more clearly, scroll down to the Services Revenue chart (about 2/3 way down the post). On the left side of the chart (about 4 years ago) Services revenue is at $7.6 billion, steady, steady growth to last quarter’s $17.5 billion.
This tells an important story, of Apple diversifying their way out of dependence on iPhone sales growth. If you haven’t already, take a look at the Jean-Louis Gassée post from yesterday. As Apple shifts from dependence on hardware sales, leaning more and more on services revenue, how will their culture change?
First things first, props to Jason Snell for pulling together the call transcript and the charts collection (which I’ll post next). Thanks, Jason.
As to the transcript, lots to read, too much to highlight, but I will post one quote, this from Apple CFO Luca Maestri, when asked about the impact of the pandemic on Apple’s results:
Well of course, we don’t have the crystal ball that tells us exactly what these different variables, how they impacted our business. We do know that on the positive side of the ledger, obviously, especially during the periods of extreme lockdowns, digital services did very well because entertainment options were limited. And so obviously our digital services did really, really well.
Obviously with more people working from home, more people studying from home, we know that iPad and Mac demand was very, very strong. On the other side, as predicted by baccarat trực tuyến, we had certain services like advertising, because of the reduced economic activity, AppleCare, because our stores were closed, they were affected negatively. And certain products like the iPhone or the Watch that are maybe more complex types of sales because of the complexity of the transaction.
They were also affected because so many points of sale were closed all around the world, not only our stores, but also our partner stores, right? So we had that dynamic throughout COVID. And now some of these businesses are rebounding.
I mentioned advertising and AppleCare. IPad and Mac, it’s difficult for us to gauge because we’ve been constrained for quite a long period of time, and the reality is that maybe the new normal after we exit COVID may be different from the past. For example, maybe there’s going to be hybrid models around work, for example.
And so it’s difficult to tell you on a net basis what that is. And this is very fluid, because it tends to change over time. I can certainly tell you that we’re all looking forward to a COVID-free world. I think that that would be very good for us and for our customers as well.
I broke Luca’s answer into paragraphs, just to make it easier to read. I find it interesting to be able to separate Apple’s long term trending/direction as a business from the shorter term (I hope) effects brought about by the pandemic.
Apple on Tuesday reported revenue of $81.4 billion, up 36 percent year over year, and a record for the company’s fiscal third quarter.
“This quarter, our teams built on a period of unmatched innovation by sharing powerful new products with our users, at a time when using technology to connect people everywhere has never been more important,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We’re continuing to press forward in our work to infuse everything we make with the values that define us — by inspiring a new generation of developers to learn to code, moving closer to our 2030 environment goal, and engaging in the urgent work of building a more equitable future.”
Apple reported iPhone revenue of $39.5 billion this quarter, up from $26.4 billion in the year-ago quarter. Mac revenue was $8.2 billion this quarter, up from the $7 billion reported this time last year. iPad revenue was $7.3 billion this quarter, compared to $6.5 billion in the year-ago quarter. Wearables, Home and Accessories were $8.7 billion this quarter, compared to $6.4 billion last year at this time, and Services was $17.4 billion this quarter, up from $13.1 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Apple’s board of directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.22 per share of the company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on August 12, 2021 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on August 9, 2021.
